Chidambaram 'deeply concerned' over state of economy, asks govt's 'plan' from Tihar

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram, who is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in connection with the INX media case, on Wednesday took a jibe at the Centre asking for a “plan” to counter current economic slowdown of the country.

Critisizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, Chidambaram said, " I am deeply concerned about the economy. The poor are the worst affected. Lower incomes, fewer jobs, less trade and lower investment affect the poor and the middle class. Where is the plan to get the country out of this decline and gloom?"

I am deeply concerned about the economy.

The poor are the worst affected. Lower incomes, fewer jobs, less trade and lower investment affect the poor and the middle class. Where is the plan to get the country out of this decline and gloom?

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 11, 2019

In another tweet, he also wrote, "Thank you all for your support. I must say I am amazed by the capacity of the poor (who I have had the chance to meet and interact with over the last few days) to distinguish between justice and injustice."

Chidambaram was arrested on August 21 by CBI in the INX Media corruption and money-laundering case.

On September 10, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the slowdown in the automobile sector was due to many factors like the change in mindset of millennials,who now prefer taxi aggregators like OLA and UBER instead of committing for monthly installments to own a car.

Sitharaman said the automobile industry did have its "good times" till two years ago.

On August 23, in a bid to address the slowdown in the auto sector, Sitharaman had announced lifting the ban on purchase of vehicles by government departments and allowed an additional 15 per cent depreciation on vehicles acquired from now till March 2020.

The same day, hitting out at the Centre over the decline in GDP, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the economy is falling into a "deep abyss" of recession and asked when will the dispensation "open its eyes".

Her scathing attack comes amid the Opposition's criticism of the government after growth in the last quarter slipped to 5 per cent.

The Congress leader has been targeting the government over its handling of the economy and had on September 2 accused it of managing the nation through "headline management" rather than finding a concrete solution to treat slowdown.

Meanwhile, India's Q1 GDP growth has fallen to 5 per cent, slowest in six years. Growth is down compared to the 5.8 per cent recorded in Q4 FY19 and the 8 per cent that the Indian economy hit one year ago in Q1 FY19.

The economic growth slowed to a seven-year low to 5 per cent in April to June quarter from 8 per cent a year ago, as par the government data.